I welcome this debate, and the motion put forward by Deputy Gogarty. I have provided two points within the amendment which I have tabled to the motion. The first one is around a bench book, which essentially is a manual for judges to help them with the specifics of family law. The Minister spoke about the unique nature of family law and how difficult it can be. That is essentially what this is. On the Minister's comments around the separation of powers, that is not the intention of this amendment. Of course, I recognise the role of the Judicial Council in providing those bench books. I would never be suggesting that the Government would write such a bench book. All I am suggesting is that it be provided for. The second point in the amendment is one that I wish to emphasise, which is the establishment and maintenance of a family helpline. One of the issues with our family court system is that so much of this ends up in the courts. If we better resourced and informed the public on the structures that should be available to them or are sometimes and intermittently available them to prevent them from ever entering the courts system and, instead, assisting them, as the Minister suggested, with finding solutions around maintenance and custody that can be done outside the court system, it would relieve the pressure on the courts system. It would provide families with less adversarial solutions to the crises that they find themselves in. All of this and all the changes that we heard suggested today must be backed up with consistent funding. The Family Courts Act should assist in resolving many of these issues, but only if it is matched with funding. It really struck me that, until Deputy Kerrane spoke this morning, I did not see the voice of the child present in this debate. Thankfully, it has appeared since then. The voice and rights of the child should be what this debate is channelled through. It is what any amendments, motions, law and policy should be done through. We know from research and, indeed, from lived experience that when we centre and foreground the rights and voice of the child, everybody else's rights are met. That is what we have to keep focused on in any of this.

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